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Friday, June 16, 2017

Cruise Control Can Kill

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Do you ever have those days where you just run on autopilot
or cruise control? I do. It’s a joke in my house that if I have to
something out of the ordinary that breaks my morning routine, I get all out of
sorts. I have also been known to step
over a bag or item that I have placed in front of the door so I do not forget
it. Brilliant, I know. While forgetting a bag, your phone or laptop
charger is not going to be the death of you, running on autopilot when using
chemicals can. When our daily routine
includes the use of cleaning and disinfecting products, we need to stay
alert. This week, I was reminded of just
how easy it can be to run on autopilot in dealing with a facility and it’s
exactly these kind of situations that reinforce my reasons behind the
Talk Clean To Me blog.

The “story” goes
like this.

Inquirer: Hello! We have been using your product for quite
some time and love it, but recently a few of our staff are experiencing rashes
on their arms after use. We have never
had this before and wanted to confirm there have been no changes to the
product.

Responder:Thank you for reaching out to us. We
would be happy to help you get to the bottom of what is going on. If you do not mind, I’m going to ask some
questions to see what we can figure out.

Inquirer: Go ahead!

Responder: Do you use the Ready-To-Use or Concentrate
version of the product?

Inquirer:We use the Ready-To-Use
format. We just pour and go.

Responder: Is it possible that you may have
purchased the Concentrate format this time?

Inquirer:I don’t think so, but we did have
a different person place the order. Let
me go grab the bottle.

Elevator type music begins playing while the
Responder is on hold waiting for the Inquirer.

Inquirer:I’ve got the bottle. It looks to be the same as what we always
buy.

Responder: Do you mind reading what is on the front
panel of the bottle?

Inquirer:Sure. It says “Product A, Concentrated Cleaner
Disinfectant”.OMG!We have not been diluting the product before
use.Could this be the reason for the
rashes?

Responder: Unfortunately, yes. Concentrate products are meant to be diluted
before use. Using the product at full
strength and not diluting could certainly result in skin irritation.

Inquirer: OMG! I feel so dumb. None of us read the label. We just saw that it was the same product name
and used it as we always have.

Responder:You’re not alone. It unfortunately happens more frequently that
you would think. I’m glad we were able
to get to the bottom of this! The dilution
instructions are found on the label.
Would you like me to go over those with you?

Inquirer:No. I see them and they look easy enough to
follow. I better go dump out the
product we have in our container and replace with properly diluted product
before anyone else uses it! Thanks for
your help!

Responder: You’re most welcome. Don’t hesitate to call us again with any
questions you may have. Good bye!

Inquirer: Good bye!

Responder and Inquirer hang up the phone.

Unfortunately, this is not an uncommon occurrence. I hope by sharing this very true story,
you’ll read the label of the product you’re using in a little bit more detail
and not just focus on the product name.
You never know when a product may have been switched. In this case, the outcome was not serious, but
you never know when using chemicals when a little mistake can lead to deadly consequences!